A bit of a shorter bulletin this week, as we didn’t hold our usual board meeting because of the game against Eastbourne. The good news from that is that the various protocols and arrangements that were put in place all seemed to work quite well. There were a few things we have added to a lessons learned list, such as providing ice for the away team physio, but overall it was a successful first run  through.

We also used Tuesday as our first pay per view live-streaming game. A lot of people were able to watch the game from the comfort of home without any great problems but we know that some subscribers and season-ticket holders did experience difficulties.  We have invested in a new system for emailing out the access codes and hope that the steps that have been taken will be successful.

We received further guidance on Monday around calculating our permitted capacity and, as ever, keep a watchful eye on the pronouncements coming out of Downing Street. We are still working on the basis of having spectators in the stadium for our opening league game on 3rd October at home to Maidenhead but, obviously, we cannot be certain. This Saturday we do get a chance to watch live football though with the friendly away to Haringey, from whom we signed Coby Rowe earlier in the year, and if people can’t travel away there is also the option of watching Sutton Common Rovers in their home FA Cup tie.

More financial support has been made available to help prepare stadia for games in a Covid-secure environment and our application has been submitted. More widely, we continue to explore a variety of avenues for bringing in additional finance. On which subject, many thanks to everyone who has so generously already donated through our United We Stand 2020 scheme.  The promised pin badges have now arrived, so we hope everyone will wear theirs with pride to show their support for the club during these problematic times.